5nm Chip Process
A smartphone chip’s fabrication process plays a big role in how those chips perform. Currently, most flagship smartphone chips — like the A12 Bionic or the Snapdragon 855 — are made used a 7nm fabrication process. But chipmakers are always looking to shrink their die size, and Apple supplier TSMC is no different.
TSMC recently confirmed that it would have 5nm chips ready in time for Apple’s 2020 iPhones. The miniaturized fabrication process should result in chips with improved performance, battery life and thermal management. And that could bode well for Apple and its customers, since the company’s A-series chips are already the fastest on the market.